Snuffing fire pits may not be so easy

Chiarra Bone, 18, of Clairemont, Dimitri Hazelton, 19, of Serra Mesa and Sharron Fonseca, 19, of San Diego gathered last night near a fire pit on Fiesta Island. The city plans to remove its 186 shoreline fire rings to save maintenance costs, but the state Coastal Commission is requiring a permit first.

This time, it may not be an anonymous donor who rescues San Diego’s shoreline fire pits, which are proposed to be eliminated to help the city close a $179 million deficit.

The last-minute hero that bonfire fans are looking to this time is the California Coastal Commission, the state agency charged with protecting the coast and recreational opportunities there for the public.

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The 186 fire pits have been a colorful aspect of the city’s growing budget woes since Mayor Jerry Sanders proposed removing them late last year to save on maintenance. The coastal regulator has not previously intervened, even though at one point the city rolled out heavy machinery to start extracting them.

The commission has now informed the city that it will need a state permit before removing the concrete squares that warm marshmallow-roasting families and late-night partyers in Mission Bay, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla Shores.

Coastal Commission decisions can become drawn-out, bureaucratic affairs. But city officials said they have involved their lawyers in the belief that no permit will be needed and that, if a permit is necessary, approval will be quick and easy.

Hans Baumgartner, a University Heights resident whose family and friends regularly gather around fire pits on Ski Beach in Mission Bay Park during summer nights, said the city should be required to seek a permit — and he’s prepared to rally his loose network of contacts against granting one. More than 3,400 people have joined the Facebook group called “Save the San Diego Fire Pits.”

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Baumgartner has been going to fire pits for about 20 years, and his wife’s family has been going for nearly 50 years.

“We’ve had a wedding at the fire pits. We’ve had memorial services at the fire pits. It’s a gathering spot for us,” he said.

Baumgartner said he doesn’t believe the city has sufficiently explored how it could save the pits, such as saving money by limiting maintenance to only certain months or raising money through sponsorships. And he questions the accuracy of the city’s cost figures for maintenance.

Advocates also assert that removing the fire pits could create safety hazards because people may set fires illegally on the sand and leave hot ashes behind.

A year ago, an anonymous donor came forward with $259,000 to preserve the popular amenity through next summer. But a fundraising campaign to keep the pits longer raised only $1,210.

Last month, Sanders again suggested removing the enclosures effective July 1 to save the annual maintenance cost, previously estimated to be $173,000. The latest figure indicates it’s closer to $120,500, partly because city employees have taken a 6 percent cut in compensation. Two city employees use a front loader and a dump truck to regularly clean out the 5- foot-by-5-foot enclosures, which weigh nearly 2,000 pounds each.

The city only recently learned of the permit issue.

“We received in writing from the Coastal Commission staff that you need a coastal development permit,” said Stacey LoMedico, director of park and recreation. “We went back to the City Attorney’s Office and asked them to respond to it. We didn’t believe it. I don’t have a response yet.”

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Recently, when the Orange County city of Newport Beach raised the possibility of removing fire rings, it was also told by the Coastal Commission that it needed a permit. After a public outcry, the city dropped the idea.

San Diego staffers said their understanding is that even if the city needs a state permit, obtaining one should be a relatively simple and quick process that does not entail extensive public hearings.

Deborah Lee, manager of the San Diego Coast District Office of the Coastal Commission, did not return calls for comment. But Tom Luster, a scientist with the San Francisco office of the Coastal Commission, said San Diego’s proposal to remove all its fire pits would likely require review.

“From your description, that extensive of a program would require a permit,” Luster said.

The city has more control over the fate of fire pits covered by state-certified “local coastal programs,” which give the city permitting authority in certain areas. The city could not immediately say how many fire pits are within these areas. But even there, the public could be entitled to appeal city action to the Coastal Commission, Luster said.

City Council President Ben Hueso — a former member of the Coastal Commission — said he’s a big fan of the fire pits, but given the severity of the budget situation, he would be hard-pressed to save the pits while the police and fire departments are facing cuts.

“Fire rings are very important, but if you were to weigh that against police services, most people would agree we want the ability to investigate crimes,” Hueso said.

Mike Cully, a Mission Valley resident who loves the beach bonfire tradition, said if the fire pits are taken away, San Diego would lose a piece of its soul.

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“It’s part of the personality of the city,” Cully said. “It’s something we’ve always taken for granted. To me, it’s just one of the identifying aspects of San Diego. As trivial as it seems, it’s one of those things that gives the city the character and the personality it has.”

Organized labor’s success in getting the San Diego Unified School District to grant union hiring preferences on $2.1 billion in construction projects last year has sparked a major counteroffensive from business interests that say it’s bad for taxpayers.